Corn picking and husking machine



1 Oct 927 s. w. BARNETT CORN PICKING AND HUSKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 7, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet} M my 4% 4 0 [m d 2 192 Oct 7 s. w. BARNETT CORN PICKING AND HUSKING MACHINE Filed Jan. '2. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 25 192 Oct 7 s. w. BARNETT CORN PICKING AND HUSKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 7, 1925 3 Shee'ts-Sheet 3 Wil 2am flifarzzgyv Patented a. 2s, 1921.

UNITED STATES SELL W. BARNETT, OF WEBSTER CITY, IOwA.

CORN PICKING.AND

' Application filed January My invent-ion relates to that class of machines which are employed for plckmg and husking corn from the stalks in the field.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a machine of the general type mentioned having various advantageous features of construction and operation which will hereinafter more fully appear.

More particularly, it is my purpose to provide in such a machine, mechanism for picking the ears from the stalks and conveying them to husking rollers, which ,mechanism is of novel construction adapted to pick two rows of corn at a time.

A further object is to provide in such a machine means for properly balancing and tilting the corn handling mechanism.

A further object is to provide such a machine of the power driven type to which a wagon may be hitched in such manner that the corn may be conveniently delivered thereto during the harvesting operation of the machine.

\Vith these and other objects in view, my

. invention consists in the construction, ar-

rangement and combination of the various parts of my corn picking machine, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a top or plan view of a corn picking machine embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the corn elevator and swinging discharge spout or chute.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of my corn picking machine.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of part of the elevator and spout, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section.

Figure 5 is a detailed, sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, arts being broken away and other parts omitted.

Figure 6 1s a detailed sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a detailed, sectional view taken on the line 77 of Figure 3.

In the drawings herewith, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the main supporting axle of my corn picking machine. Rotatably mounted on the axle are wheels 11, which are spaced apart such a distance as the machine may travel in the field with two rows of corn between said wheels.

KUSKING MACHINE.

7, 1925. Serial No. 1,119.

The axle 10 projects beyond the righthand wheel 11 a substantial distance as shown in Figure 1.

The main frame of the machine consists of a left-hand member 12 supported on the axle 10 and projected forwardly therefrom from a point near the left-hand wheel 11, as shown in Figure 1. A main frame member 13 is supported on the axle 10 just inside the right-hand wheel 11 and extends forwardly and is thence inclined forwardly and toward the left as at 14 (see Figure 1).

Between the members 12 and 13, a main frame member 15 is supported on the axle 10 and extends forwardly parallel with the member 12. The forward ends of the members 12 and 15 are connected by a U-shaped member or portion 16.

A brace member 17 connects the frame members 15 and 13 and additional bracing frame members 18 and 19 may be rovided.

On the main frame is supporte a motor 20 having a starting crank 21, a radiator 22,

a fuel tank 23, a transmission gear box 24 with a suitable transmission structure therein and a gear shifting lever 25.

At-the front of the main frame, a suitable axle 26 has the supporting wheels 27 mounted thereon. The axle 26 is pivotally connected with a block 27 supported between the arms of the frame portion 16.

Connected with the axle 26 is a curved rack bar or sector 28. On the main frame is supported a steering post 29 on which is a steering wheel 30 (see Figure 1).

At its lower end, the steering wheel 30 has a steering rod 32 extending through the steering post 29 and connected at its lower end by a universal joint 33 (see Figure 3) with a. forwardly extending rod 34 havingat its forward end a beveled pinion 35 arranged to mesh with the segmental rack 28 above mentioned.

Supported on the main frame is a transverse shaft 36 which extends through the gear box 24 and is operatively connected with the gears therein in any suitable way.

The wheels 11 are providedwith internal gears 38 which mesh with pinions 39 on the ends of the transverse shaft 36 (see Figures 1 and 2).

The traction mechanism of the device forms no part of my present invention and is illustrated only in a. general way for the purpose of showing the environment of the invention.

member 4.0 rearwardly to the end of thema- The frame member 45 is extendd from the forward portion of the frame member 43 rearwardly and to the left end is pivoted on the main frame and terminates in a portion 46 extending rearwardly as shown" chine.-

in Figure 1.

he rear ends of the frame members:

and 46 are connected by a transverse frame member 47. The gathering and picking arms are supported on the auxiliary frame-j; by means of addtional frame members 48,49,

50 and 51.

The auxiliary frame is tiltable anid isf tilted by the following means: Supported on the main frame is a transverse shaft 52. W A

lever 53 (see Figure 3) is connected to' the shaft 52. At the other end of the shaft 52 s an arm 53 fixed thereto. A link 54 is pivoted to the arm 53 and to the underside of the conveyor trough 55 hereinafter more fully referred to.

The lower ends of the members 48, 49, 50 and 51 are extended horizontally forwardly as at 56 (see Figure 3).

Supported on the auxiliary frame are the gathering arms 57, which are of any well known structure suitable for the purpose. There are two pairs of gathering arms so arranged that the machine can be used for picking two rows of corn at once.

Rearwardly of each pair of gathering arms is a pair of picking rolls, the rollers of each pair being indicated by the numerals 58 and 59.

Between the picking rolls is a conveyor structure, comprising the conveyor trough 55, already mentioned, extending from position alongside the inner pair of picking rolls upwardly and rearwardly, and the conveyor trough 60 extending from position alongside the outer pair of picking rolls rea wardly and upwardly and inwardly.

The conveyor troughs 55 and 60 at their rear ends communicate with an inwardly and downwardly inclined chute 61, shown in Figures 1d 3. At their lower ends, the conveyor troughs 55 and 60 are connected by a curved connecting trough 62.

The rolls 58 of the respective pairs are the rolls nearest to the adjacent conveyor troughs 55 and 60 and are arranged a little below the picking rolls 59, as illustrated in the Figure 7.

The troughs 55, 60 and 62 at their lower ends have a common bottom 63, shown in Figure 5. v I

The trough 60 has an inner wall 64 and the trough 55 has an inner wall 65. The trough 60 has an outer wall 66 and the trough 55 has an outer wall 67. The walls Q conveyor chain 72 on] the conveyor tro'ugh 60.

66 and 67 are curi tll'upwardly ii hdtroveetl i rolls 58, as shown in Figure 7.

gi l ""llbesefi that s": re; snapped framnm smut the relative angement of therolls'58 and 59, as illustrated in Figure 7, Eiiid tl-iearrangement of the troughs 5 5 and ti Q t thereto will cause the ears todropover"-111-to-'the troughs 55 and 60. T e tro gh 68 (see rigm-esi d commq ,bottom at t conveyor troughs mogjnted it A l wif a on 55. andeo at he" upper ends 0 1 Whi is eii'r e 1 (Se F gui' he sp k t 71 and'69 a al Qil the con geyor trough 5 5 aridfth 'nner i f Onthe'fchain projectlng fingersl73 which convey the"oornjfrorn the" inner 'rolls} across through the tr ughfm to'lthe trough 60 and then convey tl'ifejcor n fromboth'rolls upwardly and rearwardly in the trough 60 to- N the'chute 61.] v f i The walls 64 and 65 are inclined inwardly as at 7 4 at their lower ends and the trough 62 has no upperwall. cover plate 75 is provided for' the sprocket 69,'so'that if any ears ofcorn drop over the 'walls 64 and 65, shown in Figure 7, upon the cover plate 7 5, they may slide" downwardly into the trough 62. I h v y l For operating the 'picking rolls and the conveyor chain 72, the. 'followingmeans are providedf Connectedwith the gea'rs in the gear box 24 is'a shaft'76 (see Figure '1), which is controlled'by' a-clut'ch lever 77.

Supported on theframe members 48, 49, 50' and 51 is a transverse driveshaftf77; Power is transmitted from the shaft-76 Eta the shaft 77 'bynncans of a chain 78- and sprockets 79"and"80. The shaft 77 is'so located that the chain 78 will have play enough to permit the necessary tilting of the auxiliary frame.

The picking rolls 59 are connected by uni versal joints '81-with suitable mounted shafts 82. On the shafts 77 are beveledgears 83: meshingwithbeveled gears '84 on the-shafts 82. Each'picki'ng roll 58 isfrotated from'its' coactlng picking roll 59 by ineans';"of-t-lie pinions 85 and 86shownffor instance in-Figure 1. 'r, v On theshaft 77.is a sprocket 87 shown in Figure 1. Supportedsuitably-onthe an iliary frame below.th'efupper 'ends offthe troughs 55 and (SOis a shaft 88'shown' in Figure 6. On the'shaft 88 is a sprocket- 89. A chain 90 travels onthe sprocl'ccts 89 and 87 for transmittingmotion from the shaft 77 tothesh'aft'88; I 5

Mounted below" the upper ends of the troughs 55 and 60 is another stub'shaft 91.

92 and 93.

. part of the present invention. Each chain Suitably mounted at'the upper ends of the troughs 55 and 60 is a shaft on which is the sprocket 71, hereinbefore referred to.

On the shaft 70 is a beveled gear 96 meshing with a beveled gear 97 on the shaft 91. Each of the gathering arms has supported thereon a chain 98 carrying fingers 99 which are of ordinary constructlon and form no 98 at its lower end travels around a sprocket 99 on a stub shaft 100. Each chain 98 at its upper end travels on a sprocket 101 on a shaft 102.

On each shaft 102 is a beveled gear 103. Each beveled gear 103 meshes with a beveled gear 104 on the shaft 105. For rotating the shafts 115, I provide the following means:

On each shaft 82 is a sprocket 106 in line with a sprocket 107 on one of the shafts 105, as shown in Figure 1. A chain 108 travels on the sprockets 106 and 107. On the shaft having the sprocket 107 is a sprocket 109 aligned with a sprocket 110 on the shaft 105 of the adjacent picking arm.

A chain 111 travels on the sprockets 109 and 110. a

It will thus be seen that the shafts 105 are operated from the shafts 82 through the media of the sprockets 106 and 107, the

chains 108, the sprockets 109 and 110 and the chain 111.

The chute 61 discharges into a husking mechanism 112, which will not be described in detail and may be of any suitable stand- The -husking mechanism hasard type. means for removing the husks from the ears and means for discharging the husks not here further described.

Below the husking mechanism is a trough or chute 113 shown in Figure 1, from which a suitable conveyor 114 extends upwardly and rearwardly and discharges into a swinging chute or spout 115 operated by means of a rod 116 (see Figure 4) and adapted to discharge into a wagon.

A wagon may be connected to the hitch 117 shown in Figure 3 and drawn behind the corn picking machine. The mechanism for operating the husking rolls and the conveyor 115 is not here particularly described nor is it largely shown in the drawings.

In the operation of the machine, it will be understood that the engine is used for advaneing the machine.

The stalks of corn are gathered between the arms 57 of each pair. The arches 118 help to rigidly connect the gatherers. The snapping rolls pull the ears from the stalks and they are dropped over the lower rolls 58 and the upper parts of the walls 66 and 67 into the conveyors 55 and 60, where they are gathered by the fingers 73 around the conveyor 62' from the conveyor 55" and up the conveyor 60 the chute 61, whencethey are discharged laterally to. the husking rolls. Any ears that ha'ppen todrop over-the walls 64 and 65 will slide downwardly-betweenthe endzof the walls 74 and 7 5 into the convey- The operations after the chute 61 are standard 'operation's,which Will not be here more fully described.

There area number of important advantages .accomphshedby the employment of the features of construction hereinbefore described; v I i It will be noted that I have provided a two row corn picker,.which is operated un-f v der' 1ts own power. It will be seen that the. engine 1s located well toward the left in the 1 machine, so as to im ose the reater art of the weight of its rea i' part 01% the left hand wheel 11. 1

At the same time, the auxiliary frame which supports both the picker arms and the husking rolls is supported on the axle 10 and on .the wheels 11 with the picking arms arranged at one side of-the engine, so that their weight will be imposed largely on the rlght-hand wheel 11. However, thev same auxiliary frame supports the picker arms" corn leaves the and the snapping rolls and the husking rolls.

It will be noted that the huskin rolls ar located to the left of the center the ma chine, so that they thus serve to balance the picklng arms and'pickingrolls on the axle 10.

The I load is thus balanced on the two wheels 11, being distributed properly laterally on the machine, and also by mbuntin the aux liary frame over" the axle, as is her e shown, it will'be" seen that the load is balanced from'front' to-re'ar on the axle 10. part of the load being distributed behind the axle and part of the-load in'front of the axle. Theseare. important. featuresin v the mechamcal design of the machine;- I It w1ll also be noted that I have useda I single conveyor for the corn. snapped bv I both pairs of snapping r0113. This conveyor receives the corn from one pa'irofYpickin-g rolls while the conveyor chain is; on its 1' v downward Way, and takes it around the bottom of the boot then upward, receiving the corn from the other pair of rolls on its upward way, discharging it at itsupper end laterally. This is a novel and'essential-fea r ture. This does away with the necessity of.

using a separate snapping rolls.

An important feature of the invention is" also found in the arrangement of the chute conveyor for eachpair 'ofv 61, which is arranged to discharge laterally and downwardly to the husking rolls.

It will be noted also that the "endless conveyor,- which carries the ears from the snapping rolls rearwardly is inclined at its point member 11.17, as here i-nhefore; mentioned longitudinal,center otthej nriachineli It will be noted that in the construction here shown, :the wagon can {hex h itch ed to? l t] ie J'JJALS a result in c'on'iinenciir land; I only gone; down crow t 1 a corn/picker pifokin only one'row and using :latcral"ele vator: ,with a wnvagon, there: are about 1 four down rows at the beginning of the land; Ofc-course,cin a strJuctI-Ire 'IOli tlllS kind, therei gainedth'e advantage ofipicking two rows of. corn:v ata time and with the inmlern means for controlling the engine 'and'the corn picker ,from the wagon, one man can handlean entire Inn ehine:

It will thus be seen that I have provided a, properly balanced two-rowpicker by arranging thegathering. arms and snapping :olls at one sideof the longitudinal center of the, machine and arranging the engine and the husking rollsat. the other side of the longitudinal-renter, and havevalso balanced the-machinefrom front torear.

V In such a machine, :I have provided a picker, and conveyor for the "earssnappcd from the stalks, whereby the ears are carried rearwardly. and discharged laterally to the husking rolls, thus accommodating therconveyor mechanism to a maehine in which .-t-he-husking= rolls are located laterally with relation tothepicking r.rolls.v i i This niac-hine :embodies inone unit the picking andEhusking mechanisms,- the power plant and traction means for advancing the machine and pulling aaragon. l There 1 :is ggelimi' nated the necessity for a separate tractororwteamto pull the machine and the inecessityvfor 'means to pull the wagon.- -.One man can handle :the machine nd thewagon. By' arr-anging the/steering wheels alongside; the'gatl'i'ering Zmeans, theilatter arcmore easilyiand accurately controlled than-would otherwise bel'possible; .1

"alt will; =he-noted that= clutches 20am! 7? are provided for the; traction n leans and it he mechanismeofythe machinew Sineeall corn harvesters sometimesielog, itis thus possible to foperate the picking and husking inecha and s is 'icarried to Fthetotlier'one Elwhere the-.-

conreyor .receives lithe corn-therefrom? L :Qnln a .cornopicking machine, a-Wheel sup-.5 ported; frame, :s'p'acedn sets of corn piclt'ingj mechanisms thereon,"1ca single .endlessueom, \evor arranged between the mechani'sms'for conveying the :corn picked 'by', both sets, .comprisimg; troughs converging at their upper ends and-having a connectin-gtroughat their lower. ends, ic'onv'eyor; means traveling in the troughs. J l *1 i l 3. In a co'rn-picl ing machine, a frame mounted on wheels, spaced ,corn picking mechanisms thereon, \a conveyor having-a rotary member at its'upper rear end, a rotary member at its lower end betweensaid mechanisms, a-fiexible element, fingers on said element, a trough in which the element travels past the mechanisms and to theiupper rotary n iember, the axes'of said rotary members being substantially vertical to the bot,- tom of said trough, a laterally inclined chute to. receive corn discharged from the open upper end of the trough, and meansfor. advancing the flexibleelement;Fina direction such that the movement of the fingers onathe flexible element aroundthe upper sprocket tends to throw the corn into the chute in the direction of theiinclination of the chute from the trough. r V 4. In a corn picking vmachine, a wheel mounted axle, a main tramethereon having steerable supporting means at its front end, a power device on the main-frame, an auxiliary frame, pivoted on the axle, a. corn picking mechanism on the auxiliaryframe forwardly of the axle and at one side 'ofvthe'longitudinal center of the machine, and a corn husking mechanismon the auxiliaryfra'me atlthevotherside of the longitudinal center and rearwardly of the .aXle} a 1Des'M0ines, Iowa, December 19, 1924;

a 1 i: SELL W. BARNETT; 

